Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

My steering has been getting progressively tighter. And this last week at the lake it got ridiculous. I know there are lots of people who have had problems with the rudder on these boats. But when I disconnected my steering cable from the tiller I found the ruder turns easily. But the wheel is still very tight.

So I took apart below the dash and checked the steering cable number. It is a SSC15421. I had planned on pulling the cable out from the helm side with some string attached to the rudder end part. But I got stuck separating the cable from the rotator/pivot sleeve thingy.

It looks like it is a 1 1/8" nut on the end of the steering cable. And there is no clearance to get a wrench on it. I am thinking about holding the rotator sleeve with my hand and using a crows foot wrench to turn the silver nut/end of the cable. Has anyone done this operation before on this boat? Any suggestions?

I also was surprised how loose the rotator is. I understand it needs to be able to rotate when the rudder moves but there is more vertical play in the rotator than I had expected. I also was surprised that turning the cable would turn the rotator sleeve with respect to the two large black lock nuts that are on the sleeve. Should these lock nuts be tighter?

Thanks in advance!

I actually did that last night, pretty disappointing to swap out a cable that, according to my dealer, should last ten to fifteen years.
The best way to pull the cable, so I've read and will do on Friday, is to use a cable cutter to cut the cable from the rack. (Rack is the black rectangular part connected to the steering column). You then tape the rack end of your old cable to the rudder end of your new cable and pull it through from the rear of the boat. I've read that this is much easier to accomplish if you have one person pull and another feed from the helm.
As for removal of the existing cable - The rudder arm is connected to the cable via a bolt on the tiller arm. A 9/16" nut is on top and the bottom is a 1/2". Turn the wheel all the right to pull the tiller arm as close to the front of the boat as possible to remove the nuts. Then turn it all the way back to left to give the cable enough remove to be pushed off the tiller bolt. Then turn the wheel all the way back to the right to shorten the cable as much as possible.
Then loosen the 1 1/8 nut about 6" in front of the cable bracket beneath the engine. This can be difficult. I have read that some use heat to loosen. Others put a wrench on the closer of the two nuts on the cable at the bracket. Others put a vice somewhere down the cable to ensure it doesn't spin. Make sure the cable is as short as possible when you finish this step. It needs to be short to be pushed/pulled out of the cable bracket.
The rack is connected with 4x 11mm bolts. Easy removal. When you take off the rack check and make sure there is no noise or restriction coming from within the tilt mechanism of your steering wheel.
You may be able to push the cable through the bracket yourself if there is clearance in the conduits for the cable. I needed another person to pull at the helm a bit while I pulled the cable through the bracket. Now just follow the threading directions above, reassemble any hardware, and enjoy smooth steering.

A couple more thoughts. Seastar solutions is the new name for teleflex. So when you buy your replacement cable and only see Seastar you know they are the same.
Apparently the SSC134XX is the old cable. The SSC154XX is a new version intended to last longer. Amazon had the 134XX available via prime. I got the best deal from iboats.com, but our lengths are different so you may find a better deal elsewhere.

Thanks I ended up buying off of Amazon. Did you have any problems separating the steering cable from the rotator sleeve? It seems very difficult getting a tool on it in the confined space. Thanks again!

I was able to get two adjustable wrenches in to remove that 1 1/8"nut. It can be tough, good luck.

I replaced one last year on a 2012 A22. I taped the old cable to the new, after cutting the black metal piece off, and pulled from the rear of the boat. If you use this method I advise to not get carried away with the tape. At the point I could reach the new cable, they had to be separated due to a lack of space to continue pulling them while together. The most difficult part for me was reattaching the new cable to the rudder arm.


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Thanks for the info!

Stuart - Can you list the cable length you purchased - for future reference when some new member comes to research the project?

I used the teleflex SSC15420 (20 ft). The original cable was a SSC15419.


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Any benefit to going longer?